Jaeger-Lecoultre will participate in the third edition of the Homo Faber Biennial in Venice this september

Jaeger-LeCoultre is pleased to announce its participation in the third edition of the Homo Faber Biennial in Venice in September. Homo Faber celebrates the savoir-faire and unique stories of talented craftspeople from around the globe, honouring the priceless human skill behind the creation of beautiful, handcrafted objects. Designed by celebrated film director and interior architect Luca Guadagnino, and architect Nicolò Rosmarini, the event, titled The Journey of Life, will feature the work of more than 400 highly skilled craftspeople from 50 countries, in 10 themed exhibition spaces. The Homo Faber Biennial will take place on the island of S.Giorgio Maggiore, Venice, from 1–30 September, 2024.

An immersive exhibition offering rare insight into precious craft skills

Showcasing the exceptional savoir-faire of its Métiers RaresTM atelier and reflecting a core value of the Maison, Jaeger-LeCoultre has been chosen as a participant in the ‘Nature’ exhibition. It will underline the inheritance of traditional crafts, the value of passing down savoir-faire from generation to generation, and the influence of symbolic imagery throughout history. Animating the Maison’s exhibit and offering visitors rare insight into precious craft skills, craftsmen from the Manufacture will give live demonstrations of the crafts of enamelling, engraving, gem setting and watchmaking at different times throughout the month-long event. To celebrate the talent and accumulated savoir-faire in both watchmaking and the decorative arts, Jaeger-LeCoultre will launch three new Reverso limited-edition timepieces during the Homo Faber Biennial.

Homo Faber Fellowship: supporting the transmission of savoir-faire

Reinforcing its commitment to supporting the preservation and transmission of vitally important craft skills for future generations, Jaeger-LeCoultre last year became the partner of the Michelangelo Foundation in the Homo Faber Fellowship. A long-term initiative, the programme equips talented graduates with the creative and business skills necessary for integration into the professional craft sector. The inaugural cycle began with a month-long residential masterclass based at the studio of the renowned Portuguese contemporary artist Joana Vasconcelos and brought together 20 duos of Master craftsmen and newly graduated talents (Fellows). Workshops in creative skills were complemented by a design case study presented by Jaeger-LeCoultre, and a bespoke programme focused on business skills and entrepreneurial vision presented and certified by ESSEC Business School. This was followed by a six-month residential placement for the Fellows in the studios of their corresponding Masters, during which they exchanged ideas and further developed their techniques through the co-creation of an object.

A selection of these objects has been curated for the Homo Faber Biennial, where they will be displayed in different exhibition areas, corresponding to the creative visions and craft skills that each embodies. The Homo Faber Biennial is open to the public from 1 – 30 September 2024, from 10am to 7pm daily, at Fondazione Giorgio Cini on the island of S.Giorgio Maggiore, Venice. Information and tickets are available at homofaber.com

About Homo Faber

Homo Faber 2024: The Journey of Life takes place in Venice from 1 to 30 September. It is the third edition of Homo Faber Biennial, a celebration of contemporary craftsmanship curated by the Michelangelo Foundation for Creativity and Craftsmanship, a non-profit institution based in Switzerland, which champions craftspeople worldwide with the aim of promoting a more human, inclusive and sustainable future.

About Fondazione Cologni dei Mestieri d’Arte

Fondazione Cologni dei Mestieri d'Arte is an institutional partner of Homo Faber 2024, playing a pivotal role in the development of Homo Faber in Città. Based in Milan, it promotes cultural, scientific and educational initiatives for the protection and diffusion of artistic crafts and its purpose is to rescue them from the threat of extinction by fostering a “new Renaissance”.

About Fondazione Giorgio Cini

Fondazione Giorgio Cini, established in 1951, is a unique treasure chest of literary, artistic, musical and archival treasures. Based on San Giorgio Maggiore island in Venice, it is a meeting point of different cultures and ideas, a place for humanistic research and the dissemination of knowledge.

About Jaeger-LeCoultre – The Watchmaker of WatchmakersTM

Since 1833, driven by an unquenchable thirst for innovation and creativity, and inspired by the peaceful natural surroundings of its home in the Vallée de Joux, Jaeger-LeCoultre has been distinguished by its mastery of complications and the precision of its mechanisms. Known as the Watchmaker of WatchmakersTM, the Manufacture has expressed its relentlessly inventive spirit through the creation of more than 1,400 different calibres and the award of more than 430 patents. Harnessing 190 years of accumulated expertise, La Grande Maison’s watchmakers design, produce, finish and ornament the most advanced and precise mechanisms, blending passion with centuries-old savoir-faire, linking the past to the future, timeless but always up with the times. With 180 skills brought together under one roof, the Manufacture creates fine timepieces that combine technical ingenuity with aesthetic beauty and a distinctively understated sophistication.